fe3la فعلة
Moroccan Darija · noun
“fe3la” (فعلة) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning act, deed committed.
Meanings
- act, deed committed
- misdeed, dirty trick
Usage
Fe3la refers to a specific act committed by someone. In everyday use the word very often carries a negative judgment: it points to a stupid act, a bad trick or shocking behavior. It is heard in exclamations such as "chno had lfe3la ?" ("what kind of stunt is this?") or "dar wahed lfe3la" ("he pulled a nasty trick"). The plural is f3ayl. It is a colloquial word, frequent in reproaches. For a neutral or positive action, other words are preferred, such as "3amal", or a paraphrase.
Example
شنو هاد الفعلة اللي درتي؟
chno had lfe3la lli derti?
“What kind of stunt is this that you pulled?”
Forms
| feminine | f3la |
|---|---|
| plural | af3al |
| feminine plural | f3lat |
Forms as recorded in DODa, in its spelling.
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “fe3la” but also “f3la”, “fa3la”, “f3ayl” and “fi3l”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 3 is ayn (ع), a voiced sound from deep in the throat with no English equivalent.